Recently named APRA AMCOS Ambassador, songwriter, producer, and singer Nat Dunn was honoured at APRA AMCOS HQ last week with the inaugural position on the organisation’s The 1,000,000,000 List. Presented by Chief Exec Dean Ormston, a position on The 1,000,000,000 List is awarded to APRA AMCOS members who have achieved extraordinary success by accumulating over one billion streams for a particular song.

The worldwide smash FRIENDS, which Dunn co-wrote with the song’s performers American producer Marshmello and UK pop star Anne-Marie, has surpassed the industry benchmark of one billion streams since its release in February 2018, and has also achieved triple platinum status in Australia and Canada, and platinum in eight countries including the US, UK, Germany and France.

The 1,000,000,000 List takes into account streaming numbers from all major services including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Vevo, Amazon, Google Play and more, and is the first award of its kind to recognise a songwriter’s achievement. Dunn is published through Young & Vicious via a joint venture with Mushroom Music Publishing, and trophies were also presented to reps from both companies.

Dunn, a QLD native who primarily works in and travels between London and Los Angeles, is part of a vanguard of Aussie and Kiwi songwriters, producers, and industry creatives including Sia, Sarah Aarons, and Joel Little making an impact in the international sphere of pop music writing.

Dunn is celebrating the honour this week with what she loves to do: collaborating on new work with a roster of outstanding songwriters and producers. In partnership with Mushroom Music Publishing, Young & Vicious and APRA AMCOS’ SongHubs initiative, Dunn is curating a three-day intensive songwriting camp at Sydney’s Studios 301 with artists including Peking Duk, Illy, Mallrat, and Odette, as well as Dunn’s bandmate Nicky Night Time from her artist project NAATIONS (also published through Young & Vicious via Mushroom Music).

Upon receiving The 1,000,000,000 List honour, Dunn spoke about the future of songwriting and the role of music creators in a streaming-focused industry, where digital-related income accounted for nearly one-third of APRA AMCOS’ 2017-18 revenue of $420 million.

“Being the first songwriter honoured with a place on The 1,000,000,000 List is a reflection of the influence and creative power that songwriters bring to a new music model focused on streaming.

Streaming truly is the future. I’m hopeful that the royalty distribution to songwriters will reflect the drastic changes in the music landscape. I’m looking at it as a positive time for songwriters, I choose to be excited,” said Dunn.

Ormston commented, “Nat Dunn is at the forefront of a global songwriting movement, and we couldn’t be more proud of all her success as an expert collaborator and acclaimed artist. FRIENDS is just the first of what I anticipate will be many more of Nat’s songs on the list, and in the coming weeks, she will be in excellent company with a number of APRA AMCOS members who will be welcomed to The 1,000,000,000 List.”

Dunn’s latest co-writing credits have already reached millions of music fans, with the theme from the POKÉMON Detective Pikachu movie, Carry On, performed by Rita Ora and Kygo (written with fellow Aussie Ilan Kidron), and the Hayden James/NAATIONS collaboration Nowhere To Go recently released.